TANUVAS TO START STEM CELL TREATMENT FOR ANIMALS JOINTLY WITH NCRM
MoU SINGED FOR FIRST SUCH INITIATIVE IN INDIA

Chennai, 08 December 2008; First Veterinary University In Asia, Tamilnadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) with its 105 year old Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital, will from January 2009 extend its services in the field of Regenerative medicine using stem cells jointly with Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM), an Indo-Japan joint venture institute. A Memorandum of Understanding to that effect was signed today in the presence of the Consul General of Japan Mr. Kazuo Minagawa. Both these institutes will jointly work to establish the possible therapeutic modalities in the first phase for the dogs with spinal cord injury and in horses with tendon and ligament injuries. Subsequently the stem cell applications will be extended to other diseases also based upon evidences available, said Dr.P.Thangaraju, Vice Chancellor of TANUVAS.

Stem cells taken from bone marrow of the animals will be processed and expanded for specific application as per the protocols developed by Japanese scientists at the NCRM lab in Chennai and the clinical treatment will be performed by the Madras veterinary college doctors. The Autologous bone marrow stem cells when applied don’t have any problem of rejection and have been proven to be safe in animal experiments and also human clinical studies. The technology for the expansion of the stem cells without any foreign protein, using synthetic hydrogels and nanomaterials available with NCRM combined with the synergy of clinical expertise of one of the asias largest veterinary hospitals will be a win-win for both the institutes said Dr.Abraham, director of NCRM.

The consul general of Japan Mr.Kazuo Minagawa congratulated the institutes for their effort and lauded the Madras Veterinary College and TANUVAS for a very well maintained and well equipped hospitals for the animals in Chennai. He suggested that an exchange programme between such institutes in India and Japan could be very much useful for both the countries.

As per the last six months data, the Madras veterinary college hospital has received 310 dogs with corneal damages, 12 horses tendon injuries and 60 dogs with spinal cord injury, said Dr. P.Thangaraju. The professor of surgery Dr.Justin William and Director of Clinics Dr.Kathiresan will handle the clinical treatment to animals using stem cells. Director of research Dr Purushothaman and professor of surgery Dr.Dhananjaya Rao will be the investigators in the research projects involving the two institutes on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), hematoipoeitic stem cells, establishment of animal specific stem cell bank and? potentials of nanotechnology and biomaterials in stem cell expansion and implantation.

Highlights ofthe MoU

This is the FIRST such initiative in the country to provide stem cell based treatments to animals

The Japanese stem cell isolation and expansion technologies and nanotechnology will be employed to provide the treatment

We jointly propose to start an exclusive cGMP (current good Manufacturing Procedure) compliant stem cell facility for the animals in the TANUVAS campus

Diseases such as spinal cord injury, tendon injuries will be given stem cell treatment to start with and later it will be expanded to other diseases based on evidences available